An impossible choice: How Trump’s ‘compact’ threatens our universities
Preview:
As a former university president — of MIT — I have been thinking about how I would act if I’d been on the receiving end of the Trump administration’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” The administration sent it to nine top universities on Oct. 1. They have until Oct. 20 to respond.
Calling it a “compact,” however, is misleading. It’s an ultimatum. The letter that accompanied the compact promises that if a school becomes a signatory, it will get “multiple positive benefits” that include “substantial and meaningful federal grants.” These are vague assurances of favor in a research funding system that, until Trump took office a second time, had been scrupulously merit-based and that the administration wishes to slash to the bone in any case.
Originally published: October 7, 2025
Author: L. Rafael Reif
Position: President Emeritus
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Published by: The Boston Globe